Corridor Rhine-Alpine

The dates shown are legally non-binding forecasts based on the current status. The forecasts are in no way intended to establish any kind of legal claim whatsoever that completion will take place by the specified date and that use will be possible. For these reasons, the information should also not be used to make or prepare business decisions, for example, but not conclusively, with regard to the vehicle equipment or the compatibility between the vehicles and the infrastructure. If you have any questions, particularly regarding technical network access or obtaining binding information, please contact your customer advisor.

Most of the infrastructure projects are still in the planning phase, which means that the information provided on these pages reflects the current planning status and is updated regularly.

As an important north-south axis in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), the Rhine-Alpine corridor connects important seaports and economic areas between the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. The Federal Republic of Germany is obliged to equip the approximately 1,338 km long German section of the Corridor Rhine-Alpine with the European Train Control System (ETCS) by 2040. The equipment concept envisages ETCS Level 2 (ETCS L2). ETCS will facilitate cross-border train journeys in particular. The upgrade is therefore an important step towards a common and interoperable standard for the European rail network.

The project Corridor Rhine-Alpine comprises the majority of the ETCS equipment on the German section and extends from Oberhausen-Sterkrade to Haltingen near Basel. The upgrade affects around 180 operating points, including important cities such as Duisburg, Cologne, Wiesbaden, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Offenburg and Freiburg.

The project is being implemented within the framework of three sub-projects: Subproject West, based in Cologne, Subproject Central, based in Frankfurt am Main, and Subproject Southwest, based in Karlsruhe. In the West sub-project, the section from Oberhausen-Sterkrade to Bad Honnef is being converted. The Central sub-project is responsible for the section from Unkel to Ladenburg. The Southwest sub-project covers the section from Ladenburg to Haltingen. The main tasks of the sub-projects include the construction of new electronic and digital interlockings (ESTW/DSTW), the modernisation and upgrading of existing interlockings, the installation of ETCS route control centers (RBC), the equipping of the route with ETCS components (installation of balises) and the commissioning of the respective route section.

Commissioning will take place gradually over various route sections and over a period of several years, starting in 2022. Interfaces with neighboring ETCS projects will also be taken into account, such as the ETCS equipment for the routes Belgium – Aachen – Düren, Netherlands – Mönchengladbach – Cologne, Netherlands – Emmerich – Oberhausen or Offenburg – Kehl – France (POS South). Between Karlsruhe and Haltingen, the equipment is being installed in close coordination with the Karlsruhe – Basel new and upgraded line project.

The spatial extent, the high route utilisation and the integration of existing technology make the ETCS project Corridor Rhine-Alpine a complex challenge.